Saudi Arabia's Hilal have offered Kilian Al-Mababi an annual salary of 700 million euros, but the 24-year-old soccer star is still hesitant to go to the Middle East, and rumor has it that he'd rather be sidelined for a season at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) than give up on the European soccer scene. According to Portuguese newspaper Record, Hilal are prepared to do both, and will chase Liverpool striker Lucas Dias with an offer of 50 million euros (about HK$430 million) if McBarbie fails to join the club.
Hilal have previously signed Chelsea defender Golibani, Wolves midfielder Rubin Neves and Lazio midfielder Milenkovic Savage, with the club expecting to bring in top strikers to bolster the team's front, center and backline. However, target player Romelu Lukaku has clearly refused to join the club and is now turning to McBarbie, again with the possibility of failure. The club continues to keep an eye on potential candidates, including 26-year-old Colombian international Lucas Diaz.
Diaz moved to Liverpool from Porto in January last year and the transfer fee has reached 45 million euros. Hilal's offer of €50 million this time around may not be easily accepted by Liverpool. The 26-year-old is currently on a four-year deal with the club and has been given the No. 7 jersey this season, with manager Jurgen Klopp seeing him as a mainstay. If Hilal want to buy this powerful striker, I am afraid that they need to significantly increase the transfer fee in order to enter the negotiation stage.
Liverpool have recently agreed to sell two midfielders, Fabinho Tevaris and Jordan Henderson, to Saudi sides Ittihad and Ittifaq respectively. As to whether Lucas Dias will become the third Liverpool player to head to the Middle East for gold, nothing is known yet and we will have to wait and see what happens.
